(Present Day)

"Well? How was it?"

"I loved it!" Chrissy exclaims, squirming around in the back seat of Steve's car to face her mother more directly, "Ms. Harper let me sit in the front during movie time, and I made lots of friends!"

"That's great, baby," Sadie grins, looping her arm around her daughter's thin shoulders, and leaning down to drop a kiss to the top of her curls. Her eyes meet Steve's from the rearview mirror, and one eyebrow quirks at his somewhat satisfied smirk, but before she can even attempt to question him on that, he takes the liberty of explaining without ever being asked.

"Looks like someone's gonna end up as popular as her mom."

"Steve—"

"Mama was popular?"

"Oh yeah," Steve presses, unable to resist the smile that breaks free in response to Sadie's exasperated groan, more particularly because behind that, he can see obvious hints of a smile, "She was a cheerleader."

"Really?"

"Yep. And surprisingly, one of the really, really nice ones, too."

"Cheerleaders are mean?"

"Some of them are," Sadie admits, the incredulity in her daughter's warm brown eyes warming her, somehow, as though a part of her misses her own former possession of that innocence that Chrissy still has in spades, "But you're not going to have to worry about that."

"Because I made friends?"

"And, because Uncle Steve will kick someone's ass if they're mean to you," Steve adds, turning down the familiar street that will lead to his home, and laughing softly as he feels the nudge of Sadie's shoe against the back of his seat, "Sorry. Butt. I'll kick their butt."

"Mama, Uncle Steve said a bad word."

"I know. What do you think we should do about that?"

"Please don't say you're gonna wash my mouth out with soap—"

"Oh, now there's an idea," Sadie teases, tightening her arm around her daughter's shoulders as Chrissy's laughter provokes some of her own, "Maybe we just don't let him have dessert with dinner."

"What's dessert?"

"Why do you care, Steve? You aren't having it."

"You two are evil. You know that, right?" Steve retorts, the words lacking any real venom at all as he meets Sadie's gaze in the rearview mirror again before pulling into his driveway, "So much for being one of the nice cheerleaders."

"Did you forget that I'm cooking dinner for you tonight?"

"No, I didn't forget. But you just said you won't let me have dessert!"

"Steve."

"Yeah?"

"The bit about dessert? It was a joke."

"Hey Sadie."

"Yes?"

"I know."

The renewed nudge to the back of his driver's seat doesn't startle Steve, and he cannot ignore the relief he feels that today, for Sadie, seems to be—a good day. It's been a week since she got the job with Hopper at the station. After securing the job, it had seemed to be only second nature to get Chrissy into preschool. For all intents and purposes, it looks as though she actually intends to stay in Hawkins.

He is more relieved by that singular fact than he initially realized, so perhaps that is why he doesn't immediately notice the familiar van parked near the curb just a few feet away…

In fact, he doesn't even realize there is someone sitting on his front porch until he locks the car doors, and starts off at a jog to follow Sadie up to the front door, only to end up nearly slamming into her back as a result.

"Sadie, what the hell—Munson?"

"Nice to see you too, Steve."

"What are—what are you doing here?" Steve inquires, risking a glance at Sadie, who still remains frozen in the middle of the walkway that leads to the porch, Chrissy's hand clutched tightly in her own, and stepping around both of them as carefully as he can, "I thought you'd be uh—still working."

"Shop closed early."

"Right."

"Shop?" Sadie repeats, the word seeming to startle her, as though she really didn't intend to have spoken at all, "Sorry, I just—I didn't know—"

"Eddie works at that auto tune-up place downtown. Saved my ass more than I care to admit."

"Yeah, Harrington, only because you're still driving the same time-machine that you had in high school."

"So are you."

"Excuse me, the van is reliable. Durable," Eddie disagrees, hauling himself up from his position perched on the edge of the porch, a careful look at Sadie showing she is still more than a little apprehensive over his sudden appearance, and nearly provoking a frown from him in response, "And the van isn't why I'm here."

"Oh, good. You're here for my portion of dessert, then."

"—what?"

"Never mind. What's up, man?"

"I uh—I thought I'd talk to Sadie for a minute. If—if that's okay."

"Sadie?"

"It's—it's okay," Sadie nods, swallowing past the sudden swell of nerves that sends goosebumps fanning out all over her skin, and turning to bend down in order to look Chrissy in the eye, "How about you go inside and help Uncle Steve get ready for dinner."

"But I wanna talk to Eddie too!"

"That's what I'm here to talk to your mom about, kiddo," Eddie says, something twisting in his gut as Chrissy grins, and he notices the presence of a familiar ring on a chain around her neck. It takes him a minute, but he realizes that the twisting sensation is not all that far from relief. Sadie may still be anxious around him, but Chrissy—his daughter—is obviously not.

A part of him had wondered if the way things went with Sadie when she finally told him about Chrissy would have somehow seeped into the way the little girl saw him as well. But it hadn't. Chrissy is still looking at him with that same wide-eyed, cautious intrigue she had when they first met.

He honestly has no idea how little kids work, but Chrissy's apparent desire to stay outside with them is at least a bit encouraging, perhaps most especially in light of the fact that it has Sadie smiling just a bit while she reaches out to tuck a stray curl behind their daughter's ear.

"I promise, baby, when we're done, you and Eddie can talk all you want."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Come on, kiddo. We'd better get inside before she decides you don't get dessert either," Steve states, tossing a teasing grin over his shoulder as Chrissy takes his proffered hand. He recognizes Eddie's perplexed expression, and the slightest hints of Sadie's exasperation behind her answering smile.

A part of him wonders if it might not be the best of ideas to throw both Sadie and Eddie in the deep end like this, and use their daughter as a getaway excuse, but then, Munson had shown up on his doorstep, first.

And Steve would be lying if he were to pretend he didn't want the two of them to have this chance to talk from the start.

…

"So uh—what was that about dessert?"

"Oh, we—well, Steve—Steve said 'ass' and Chrissy called him out on it," Sadie explains, aware that her explanation is not exactly alleviating Eddie's confusion, and trying to ignore the flush that spreads across her cheeks as he takes a slight step closer, "Basically it devolved into him saying he hoped we weren't going to wash his mouth out with soap."

"And whose idea was it to deprive him of dessert, instead?"

"That—that was me."

"Nice."

"Don't be too quick to say that. I think I mothered him."

"Trust me, he probably liked it," Eddie quips, wincing as soon as he notices Sadie's eyes widening almost comically, and scrambling to try to correct his obvious mistake as a result, "That uh—that did not come out right."

"It's okay."

"You sure?"

"I am," Sadie confirms, moving past Eddie to take his former place on the edge of the porch, and motioning for him to sit beside her even in spite of the small thrill that races through her at the thought of his impending proximity, "You wanted to talk?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I—I do," Eddie confesses, his arm brushing against Sadie's as he turns to face her more directly, "And this is—I'm gonna go at your pace, 'kay? Yours and Chrissy's. But—but I wanna know her, Sadie. I wanna know my little girl."

"You—you're sure? I know it sounds awful for me to—to ask you that, and I'm not doing it because I doubt you, but—"

"Sadie. I—sweetheart, I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

Watching as a myriad of raw emotions flicker across Sadie's features in rapid succession—surprise—guilt—relief—joy—Eddie can't help but feel more than a little relieved himself. After coming to his decision about Chrissy, a part of him had feared he'd be too late. That Sadie would decide it was better—less confusing for their daughter—if things remained as they were. But here she is, looking almost teary-eyed at his admission. She is watching him like she used to, before she left Hawkins and never looked back. Like he has the power to make or break her entire world.

For a moment, Eddie gets lost in that look. In how easily the memories of what he and Sadie used to be come back to him. Because even if she had moved on, he had never stopped loving her. He never could.

But there are more important things than his feelings right now. Finding some way of getting to know Chrissy, and letting the little girl know him, that works for both him, and Sadie, in the long run. Or, in the short-term, perhaps, because Eddie still doesn't know how long Sadie intends to stay in Hawkins before moving on.

And as if she can somehow sense the direction of his thoughts, Sadie's shoulder brushes against Eddie's as she leans back to rest her weight on her palms while looking up at a pair of birds wheeling past overhead, her mouth thinning into a line for a moment before she speaks.

"I got a job."

"Yeah?"

"You're probably not going to like where it is, though," She elaborates, risking a glance at the man sitting beside her, and finding that her mouth goes dry when he offers her a bemused grin, highlighting the dimples that had always been able to make her go weak in the knees.

"So you're staying, then. In—in Hawkins."

"That's the plan. Do you—is that okay?"

"Well yeah. I mean, depending on where you're actually working," Eddie shrugs, his feigned nonchalance as he leans back so that his posture nearly mimics Sadie's causing her to laugh, and prompting him to tilt his head to the side to look her in the eye not long after, "So? Where's this big job?"

"Um—I'm taking Flo's position, actually. At the—at the precinct."

"Oh. Shit, okay, I take it back. You can leave Hawkins whenever you want."

Recognizing the obvious humor in his tone, Sadie wavers for a moment, torn between continuing this little distraction and playing along, or turning them back to why Eddie had come here to find her in the first place. But the longer she watches him, and remembers how much he loved a good laugh, the harder it becomes to resist giving in to her desire to keep the full force of his smile in place. The more difficult it is to avoid the relief she feels at even being able to be with him like this at all. And in spite of herself, Sadie's heart does a funny little lurch within her chest as she decides to use that innate skill for banter that had always enabled her to keep up with Eddie's antics in the past, despite not having the opportunity to succumb to it in years.

"I thought you'd say that."

"Seriously. I don't need any extra witnesses to my debauchery."

"Debauchery?" Sadie repeats, unable to suppress another soft laugh, while her cheeks warm beneath the steady intensity of Eddie's gaze, "Do I even want to know what that entails?"

"Just my usual."

"I see."

"But you've got a job," Eddie muses, all teasing vanishing from his tone as he watches Sadie's reaction carefully, taking some manner of encouragement from the fact that she does not appear to be unnerved by his obvious attempts at teasing at all, "That's good."

"Even if it's at the police station?"

"Who knows. Maybe next time me or one of the guys gets brought in, you can uh—help us out a bit."

Sadie can't help but grin in response to the words, even when she realizes Eddie's hand is near enough to her own on the cement of Steve's front porch that their pinky fingers occasionally brush together. And this time, she doesn't shy away from the contact, instead opting to simply let it be, her heartbeat slowing somewhat as she wets her lips with her tongue before making an attempt at bringing the conversation back to the topic at hand.

"Chrissy's in preschool, too. Ms. Harper's class."

"She's still teaching?"

"Apparently so."

"How did—how'd she like it?"

"She loved it," Sadie informs, her smile growing as she straightens just a bit, her own excitement for her daughter's accomplishment momentarily overriding any lingering hesitation in her demeanor, "Apparently she made a lot of friends already. And charmed the teacher into letting her sit in the front row for movie time."

"Wonder where she got that from."

"Where she got what from?"

"Her charm," Eddie replies, sending Sadie a wink that has her looking down at her jeans for a moment, as another rosy flush spreads across her cheeks, "Personally, I think she got it from her mother."

"And I think you and Steve are full of it."

"Ouch. The lady wounds me."

"You deserved it," Sadie jokes, surprising herself when she extends an elbow outward, catching Eddie in the side, "I was never able to charm the teachers like that on my first day."

"Oh, right. Yeah, no, I remember now. They all absolutely hated you."

"You know what I mean!"

"Do I though?" Eddie persists, feigning innocence even though he feels relatively certain he knows where Sadie is going with this, just from the slight mischievous sheen to her eyes, "Maybe you should elaborate. Just in case."

"I just mean that I wasn't able to talk to them as easily as—well, as easily as you were. Even if you were driving them crazy half of the time, I think they still—liked you."

"You think so?"

"Eddie, my God, I know so."

Some of Sadie's amusement over their banter fades when faced with Eddie's apparently unchanged inability to recognize his own worth at times, her mouth curving into a frown whether she wants it to or not. It makes her sad. Unbearably so, because in spite of his bravado and showmanship, he's never quite understood exactly how many people gravitate towards him because of who he is underneath it all. She'd seen it all the time in school. With Hellfire Club. With her. Hell, he'd even managed to charm her other friends—Nancy—Robin—Steve, without really even trying.

He doesn't see it, though. Sadie knows that he never really has. And suddenly another thought slots itself into place in her mind. An explanation for Eddie's reaction to the truth about Chrissy, outside of just the reality of missing literal years of his own child's life.

She is surprised—almost disappointed—that she did not see it sooner. That she missed all of the telltale signs.

A part of Eddie—and she cannot be sure exactly how sizeable that part of him truly is—is clearly wondering if Chrissy will want anything to do with him, and Sadie bites her lip for a moment before deciding to just dive right in to the truth she knows with certainty, instead of waiting for Eddie to eventually get to the point of bringing it up, himself.

"Eddie, she's going to love you."

"I missed four years, Sadie."

"And that's on me. Not you," Sadie insists, the utter surety behind the words causing Eddie to blink at her, as though trying to reconcile the Sadie of the present, with the more timid girl of four years prior, "As—as soon as I figure out how to tell her everything, I'll—I'll make sure she knows that, too."

"This isn't me rushing you to do that. You—you know that, right?" Eddie questions, the sudden lurch of apprehension he experienced at the thought that Sadie might feel backed into a corner about any of this fading away every bit as suddenly as it had arrived as soon as he sees her answering nod, "Because I—I meant what I said. I'll do this on your timetable."

"Actually, I kind of think we should be doing it on yours."

"Sadie—"

"No, Eddie, I'm serious. I—I kept this from you. And then—and then literally dropped it into your lap. So—so whatever you're ready for, we'll just—we'll go with that."

"How about we figure out what we're ready for together," Eddie suggests, holding out a hand to stall Sadie's impending protest, his own brow furrowing as that hand almost immediately drops to rest on top of her own on the pavement through no truly conscious decision of his own, "For now I can be—a friend. And then when we figure out how to tell her—"

"You don't have to tell her anything. I can—I can take care of that."

"Or we can do it together. I mean if—if you're comfortable with that."

Sadie cannot exactly ignore the slight burn of tears that spring to life in response to Eddie's assertion, because she never in a million years expected it. She never thought, after everything, that he would want to accommodate her at all. Not when she certainly doesn't deserve it. But here he is, sticking by her side. Wanting to know Chrissy. Somehow, miraculously, wanting to take care of her at exactly the same time.

It is more than Sadie ever could have hoped for, and yet a part of her is still more than a little determined to ensure that Eddie is not doing this because he thinks it is what she expects, particularly because she knows she has absolutely no right to ask anything of him at all.

"Eddie, are you—are you sure this is what you want?"

Eddie eyes her for a moment, a sort of gravity that Sadie has never seen from him before playing across his features, even if he is not fully aware of its existence. But he doesn't seem inclined to pull away. To change his mind. And Sadie stifles her surprise as she feels Eddie's hand tightening just a bit around her own, her gaze dropping towards the sensation while he replies.

"I'm positive. I promise you sweetheart, I'm positive."

Against her better judgment, Sadie allows herself to manage another faint smile in response to the words, and the familiar term of endearment. She allows herself to believe that this might be possible. That Eddie and Chrissy could get to know one another, and everything else would fall into place.

The thought that any of it could go wrong—that Andy could find them, or Eddie could change his mind—terrifies her beyond belief. But the way Eddie is looking at her right now, his hand still warm over her own puts her at ease, bit by bit. And suddenly she catches herself starting to wonder if she is overthinking this. If she should simply relax, and allow things to happen however they will.

She's never been very good at not planning for every contingency, though. Not since four years with Andy taught her that was the only way to survive. And Sadie spends a moment biting down on her lower lip before she decides to throw caution to the wind and remind herself that Eddie is about as far from being like Andy as she is to being a carbon copy of her mother.

"If—if you didn't have any plans tonight, maybe you could—stay for dinner?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. If you're lucky, maybe Steve will even share some of the dessert."

Eddie laughs, and Sadie feels her reluctance start to melt away in response, her eyes widening just a bit as his hand shifts so that he can thread his fingers through her own. In seconds, he is pulling her to her feet, his free hand reaching for her shoulder to steady her when she wavers just a bit as a result of the sudden movement.

"I promise I'll be on my best behavior, then. No bad language words at all."

A startled smile is all Sadie can manage in response to Eddie's words, but even as she allows him to tug her into Steve's home, she would be a fool to pretend she isn't overjoyed at this unexpected turn of events. And that feeling gives her enough courage to completely ignore Steve's skeptically raised brow as soon as he notices Eddie's grip on Sadie's hand, her attention turning to Chrissy, instead, as her little girl bounds forward from her place at Steve's side.

"Mama, is Eddie staying for dinner?"

"Yeah, baby. He is."

Chrissy's excited squeal earns her a laugh from both of her parents, and an obviously feigned look of indignation from Steve, but she notices none of it, her hands immediately reaching to pluck Eddie's from her mother's so that she can tug him over to the small collection of toys that have amassed at the far corner of Steve's living room. The little girl chatters away eagerly, and Eddie follows along as best he can, trying to keep up with the rapid-fire of information thrown his way.

Moving into the kitchen to help Steve with preparations for dinner, Sadie keeps an eye on Eddie with her daughter, unable to stop the near-constant smile that pulls at her lips as she watches them interact. As she watches Eddie laugh at something Chrissy says, while his hand hovers against her lower back to steady her so that she can clamber onto the sofa to reach for one of the books resting on the shelf hanging on the wall above it.

In spite of his obvious worries, Eddie is—a natural. He seems to meet Chrissy at her level without even thinking about it, and Sadie would be a liar to pretend she isn't far happier than she's been in months just watching them.

Even when Steve stands at her side and nudges her with his elbow, giving her another smug smirk, she can't quite bring herself to care, the sound of her daughter's laughter as Eddie moves to sit beside her on the couch making her heart feel like it might burst. He is already impersonating some character from the book in his lap, and that gives Sadie every reason to believe that maybe everything will be alright after all.

Maybe the three of them can make this work. Maybe she and Chrissy can stay in Hawkins. With their friends.

Even if the thought of all the vulnerability she risks by giving in to that hope nearly paralyzes her, Sadie is suddenly possessed with a near to overwhelming need to try.

She needs this. Her daughter needs this.

And Sadie is more than a little determined to fight like hell to ensure they have a chance to find what she never thought she could have again.

A home.

…

Hello angels! And welcome to a new chapter in Sadie and Eddie's AU! I can honestly say I have no idea where this one came from, since I started the day intending to write for another one of my stories instead. But inspiration struck, such as it was, and now, here we are! I wanted to get a bit more time to explore the start of how Eddie and Sadie are going to navigate their arrangement as far as Chrissy is concerned, and because of that, I didn't include a flashback this time around. I promise, we'll get to see some of graduation and the aftermath the next time! But for now, I hope that what I've done here seems plausible, and meets with your approval. Our lovebirds aren't back to where they used to be by any means, but the foundation is still there, even with all of the nerves and awkwardness. And hopefully as things progress, and Eddie gets more time with Chrissy, the method to my madness as far as getting Eddie and Sadie back together will make sense!

As always, my heartfelt thanks go out to each and every one of you that has taken the time to read, follow, favorite or review this story so far! And special thanks to firstofhername for leaving such kind words the last time around! I'm thrilled you're still with me, and enjoying the story, and I hope everyone enjoys this installment as much as the last!

Until next time, dearies…

MOMM